Childs aggressive behavior when waking up after being orally sedated

[Reesah]

At the age of 4 years old my daughter had to be orally sedated in order to have caps put on every one of her back teeth. One of the nurses recommended that I hold her as she wakes up, so she feels safe and secure. OMG . . . I felt like I was fighting an angry wild tiger. She was thrashing about so hard that one of the nurses had to help me hold onto her so that I didn't drop her. What is the reason for her aggressive behavior?

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi,
It is difficult to tell. I don't know what sedatives they used and your daughter medical history.
It must have been very frightening for you to see your daughter like that but this was a very unique and extreme situation. Waking up from sedation can be quite frightening for the child. First of all because it takes time for the child to regain control over his body and muscles, plus there might be a feeling of nausea or malaise which is also alarming.
I guess your daughter did not like the situation she was in and the aggressive behavior was her way to express it at that moment.

 

[comfortdentist]

To add to what Dr. Daniel said I have seen that happen before. When I sedate someone with IV and they came around in a bad mood I would usually give more versed and give them a second chance which generally worked well. Some kids get very upset when they awake sleepy.

 

[griffinej5]

This happened once with a kid I used to work with. She was sedated for surgery I think ear tubes. She totally flipped out when she woke up, and I think when she got home and she was a little more awake, she ended up kicking out a window while she was completely freaked out about what was going on. I think in her case it as like Dr. Daniel described, she had no clue what was going on and why she was feeling how she did, and not being able to communicate it, she got freaked out.

 

[navnika]

Aggresive behaviour of child is normal.I think there is no need of any tension it is just because she got frightened by all this afterall she is a small kid and experiencing all this first time.It is all because she got frightened from this appointment..